Ear-tight bathing cap



1* 1940- c. SILBERT EAR-TIGHT BATHING' CAP Filed June 28, 1939 Cari Silber INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 17, 1940 PATENT OFFICE EAR- TIGHT Carl Silbert,

Application June 28,

Claims.

This invention relates to ear-tight bathing caps and has for its principal object to produce a generally waterproof cap of this character having pockets for the reception of the external por- 5 tions of the ears of the wearer and the pocket portions ofthe cap provided with special flexible plugs insertible in the ear opening and auditory canal to prevent water entering therein and which may be worn comfortably without injury to the internal parts of the ear and without complete interference with sound reception.

With the foregoing and other objects and advantages to be attained, as will hereinafter more fully appear, the invention consists in the novel general structure and in the particular arrangements thereof as hereinafter described and defined in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawing illustrating a practical adaptation of the invention, in which Figure 1 aside elevational view showing the cap as applied to the wearer;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional View, on an enlarged scale, showing the pocket and plug portions of the cap as applied to the ear of the wearer;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the corresponding cap portions detached from the ear;

Figure 4 is a section taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view illustrating a modification of the plug portion of the cap; and

Figure 6 is a similar view illustrating a further modification.

Referring now to the drawing, the numeral I designates the cap which is made of rubber or other suitable characteristic waterproof material and in the general form of the ordinary bathing cap which is hoodlike and fitted over the head with the forward edge portion 2 snugly engaging about the brow, the side marginal portions 3 about the face and under the ears and. the rear portion 4 likewise about the base of the head and upper portion of the neck. The cap may be secured in place by the conventional strap 5.

The cap is provided with ear-receiving openings 6 in the lower portions of its opposite sides, said openings being covered by outwardly extended pockets 1 which enclose the auricle or pinna of the ear, the inner peripheral portions of the pockets conforming to the general contour of said external portions of the car. In this BATHING CAP Chelsea, Mass.

1939, Serial No. 281,719

connection, it is preferable to form the pockets externally in some fanciful simulation, for example, a wing, as at 8, in order to avoid the ludicrosity of its appearance were the exterior peripheral contour in strict conformity with the outline of the ear.

The pocket 1 is provided with a flange 9 extending about the upper, rear and lower portions of the opening 6 in the cap, between which flange and the outer wall of the pocket the corresponding outer portions of the auricle or pinna of the car are received so that the adjacent body portions of the cap are'held close to the head of the wearer and the entrance of water therebetween is effectively prevented to a considerable degree and particularly inasmuch as the marginal portions 2, 3 and 4 of the cap are in close engagement with the head of the wearer as hereinbefore stated.

For closing and effectively sealing the outer opening and the meatus or auditory canal of' the ear a special plug Ii! is provided on the inner side of the wall of the pocket I. As shown, the base portion of the plug is in the form of a generally cylindrical hollow embossment providing a recess ll therein which is open to the outside of the pocket. Said base portion is of a diameter slightly larger than that-of the ear opening and it is preferably tapered at its inner end, as at l2, so as to effectively close the ear opening when the plug is pressed inwardly thereto. Projecting inwardly from the base portion of the plug is an axial stem l3 which, in the structure shown in Figures 2 and 3, is formed integrally with the base portion of the plug and, of course, it is flexible and inherently resilient, said stem having a disk-like head [4 at its free end. Said head I4 is of a diameter slightly less than that of the base portion of the plug but sufficient to engage the surrounding surface of the auditory canal l5 of the ear with sealing effect throughout its peripherybut without exerting undue pressure which might injure or cause annoyance and discomfort to the wearer.

There is a material advantage in the particular recessing of the base portion of the plug H] in that the wearer of the cap may insert his finger into the recess ll so as to conveniently manipulate the plug while inserting it in the ear. So, too, the pressure of the water outside the pocket 1 in the recess ll holds the base portion of the plug in closing relation to the ear opening as shown in Figure 2.

It is further,

pointed out that by the recessing of the base portion of the plug It), not only is the body thickness of the plug appreciably reduced so as to give flexibility and conformability thereto, but a diaphragm effect is produced at the bottom of the recess H whereby sound is transmitted and making it possible for the cap to be worn without complete interference to hearing.

In Figure 5 the plug structure is modified wherein the plug includes an integral hollow base portion It] which is of the same general form as the base portion of the hereinbefore described plug to except that it is provided with an axial stud l6 having a rounded head portion ll of the character of the male member of a conventional separable snap fastener, said head fitting in a conventional socket provided therefor in the inner base enlargement l8o-f a stem l9 corresponding to the first herein described stem l3 and having an annularly' flanged head 20 corresponding to the head M of said stem 13. In accordance with this modification the stems l9 are obviously detachable so that new ones may be substituted when they deteriorate in use. So, too, the stems may be made with different sized heads and interchangeably mounted on the base portion M A further modification of the plug is illustrated in Figure 6, wherein the base portion lllb is formed integrally with the wall of the pocket I and the stem 2! with its flanged head 22 is formed as a separate element and cemented at its base portion to the diaphragm wall of the base portion la as at 23. i

In addition to the ornate appearance of the winglike' formation 8, or some other fanciful formation in connection with the protruding pocket portion 1 of the cap, an advantageous reinforcement of the adjacent skirt portion of the cap is provided in the immediate region of the pocket 7 due to the homogeneous thickening of the material at the rear of the pocket portion and the blending of said thickened portion into the adjacent wall of the pocket and the skirt portion of the cap, this reinforcement preventing undue stretching and deformation of the pocket portion 7 but not interfering with the comfortable conformability of the pocket to the auricleof the ear. 1

In some embodiments of the present invention the earplugs may be applied to a cap without ear pockets or to other supporting headgear either by means of a cementing process or integral formation therewith or by means of the separable fastener, as the case may be.

From the foregoing illustration and description of the invention it is apparent that a practical and safe protective device is produced, and, obviously, while the modifications shown and described are practical embodiments of the invention, the structure admits of considerable further modification within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The invention, therefore, is not limited to the specific construction and arrangement shown.

What is claimed is:

l. The herein described ear protector comprising a flexible plug element made of resilient waterproof material and having a substantially cylindrical base portion to close the ear opening externally thereof, said base portion being cylindrically recessed inwardly from its outer end to provide a diaphragm wall at its inner end, and an axial stem extension on said diaphragm wall enterable in the auditory canal of the ear and having. an annular end enlargement of lesser diameter than the base portion of the plug element to circumferentially engage the adjacent surrounding wall portion of the canal with sealing effect.

2. The herein described ear protector comprising a flexible plug element made of resilient waterproof material and having a substantially cylindrical base portion to close the ear opening externally thereof, said base portion being cylindrically recessed inwardly from its outer end to provide a diaphragm wall at its inner end, and an axial stem extension, on said diaphragm wall enterable in the auditory canal of the ear and having an annular end enlargement of lesser diameter than the base portion of the plug element to circumferentially engage the adjacent surrounding wall portion of the canal with sealing effect, the surrounding portion of the diaphragm wall at the base of said. axial stem ex-,

tension being bluntly tapered.

3.' The herein described ear protector comprising a flexible plug element made of resilient waterproof material and having a substantially cylindrical base portion to close the ear opening externally thereof, said base portion being cylindrically recessed inwardly from its outer end to provide a diaphragm wall at its inner end, said diaphragm wall having a separable fastener element located centrally thereof, and a detachable,

axial stem extension enterable in the auditory canal of the ear, said extension having an annular forward end enlargement of lesser diameter than the base portion of the plug element to circumferentially engage the adjacent surrounding wall portion of the canal with sealing effect and provided at its inner end with a complemental fastener element for detachable engagement with the fastener element on the base portion of the plug element.

4. In a protective article of the character-described, a flexible ear shield made of inherently resilient waterproof material and including a pocket portion to receive and enclose the auricle of the ear, the interior peripheral portion of the pocket conforming to the marginal contour of the auricle, said pocket portion having a substantially perpendicular inner plug extension on its side wall, the base portion of the extension next adjacent the wall being substantially oylindrical and disposed bodily outside the ear opening when the shield is applied in use and of a diameter to closingly engage about the ear opening externally thereof, said base portion being recessed cylindrically from outside the pocket portion to provide a normally form-retentive annular wall and a diaphragm wall also form-retentive at its inner end, and a stem. portion extending axially from the diaphragm wall and enterable in the auditory canal of the ear, said stem portion being provided with an annular enlargement remote from and of lesser diameter than the base portion to circumferentially engage the adjacent surrounding wall por-, tion of the canal with sealing effect.

5. In a protective article of the character described, a flexible ear shield made of inherently resilient waterproof material and including a pocket portion to receive and enclose the auricle of the ear, the interior peripheral portion of the pocket conforming to the marginal contour of the auricle, said pocket portion having a substantially perpendicular inner plug extension on its side wall, the base portion of the extension next. adjacent the wall being substantially cylindrical and disposed bodily outside. the car wall and enterable in the auditory canal of the ear, said stem extension having an annular enlargement remote from and of lesser diameter than the base portion to circumferentially engage the adjacent surrounding wall portion of the 5 v canal with sealing effect.

CARL SILBERT. 

